JAi 


The  Challenge 

Of 

Shiga  Ken 

mwmwmm 

REV.  J.  EDGAR  JiNIPP 


LITEKATUEE  DEPAETMENT. 

■Women’s  Missionaet  Association, 
United  Beetheen  in  Cheist, 
406-408  Otterbein  Press  Bldg., 
Dayton.  Ohio. 


Price  2 Cents 


The  Challenge  of  Shiga  Ken 

By  Eev.  J.  Edgar  Knipp. 


Hoir  lEe  Oot  There-. 

Early  iai  1907,  word  came  from  Japan  to  Dayton  that  Monroe  Cre- 
celius  had  fallen  at  his  post  in  Otsu,  while  battling  nobly  with  scarlet 
fever.  At  that  time  a young  Japanese  was  convalescing  from  the  same 
disease  in  St.  Elizabeth’s  Hospital  in  Dayton.  His  great  ambition 
then  was  to  study  medicine  in  America  and  return  to  his  native  land 
as  a liealer  of  disease.  Upon  his  heart  the  story  of  Crecelius’s  death 
made  a deep  impression,  especially  since  the  challenge  was  made  by 
the  visitor  in  the  adjoining  room  that  perhaps  God  was  calling  him 
to  take  up  the  work  in  Shiga  Province  which  Crecelius  had  been 
forced  to  lay  aside  after  only  fifteen  months  in  Japan. 

That  appeal  so  casually  uttered  and  then  forgotten  by  the  visitor, 
Mr.  Kiyoshi  Yabe  could  not  forget.  By  it  he  was  led  to  consecrate  his 
life  to  the  ministry  and  after  completing  his  college  course  at  Otter- 
bein  and  his  theological  studies  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  he  re- 
turned to  Japan  in  the  spring  of  1915,  and  soon  found  himeslf  with  his 
newly-wedded  wife,  living  in  Zeze,  a town  of  seven  thousand. 

As  Mr.  Yabe’s  co-worker  in  Shiga  Province  our  Foreign  Mission 
Board  had  chosen  a yo\mg  theological  student  of  the  class  of  1914, 
in  Bonebrake  Seminary.  He  became  willing  to  go,  but  upon  being 
examined  by  the  Board  doctor  was  told  that  owing  to  some  organic 
trouble  at  the  time  he  ought  not  to  go  to  a foreign  climate.  Upon 
hearing  the  doctor’s  report  I could  not  get  away  from  the  fact  that 
perhaps  God  wanted  j\Irs.  Knipp  and  me  to  return  to  Jaxjan  and  take 
up  this  long  neglected  work.  Application  was  made  to  the  Board  and 
we  sailed  eaidy  in  1915,  for  work  in  Shiga  Province. 

AGod- Assigned  Tash. 

Our  Church  had  been  assigned  special  responsibility  in  Shiga 
Province  as  a I’esult  of  a thorough  investigation  made  into  religious 
conditions  throughout  the  Japanese  Empire.  At  that  time  it  was 
found  that,  although  five-sevenths  of  her  population  live  in  villages 
and  the  smaller  towns,  almost  nothing  had  been  done  to  reach  the 
more  than  thirty-five  millions  of  mothers,  children,  men  and  young 
pe  )ide  living  in  those  sections.  Missionary  work  was  started  in  Japan 
in  the  large  port  cities.  Hot  until  the  treaties  were  revised  in  1899, 
were  missionaries  allowed  to  travel  without  restriction  in  the  interior. 
As  a natural  result,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  who  live  in  the  rural 
sections  have  not  yet  had  an  adequate  chance  to  hear  and  know  what 
Christianity  really  is.  To  irin  Japan  for  Christ  it  is  ahsohitely  es- 
sential that  much  more  he  done  inimediatehj  to  reach  her  thousands 
of  toirns  and  viUnges  and.  coantri/  districts. 

Shiga  Prorinre — .1  Buddhist  Center. 

Shiga  Province  is  a rural  stronghold  of  Buddhism.  Everywhere  one 
goes,  he  finds  many  Buddhist  temples  and  in  almost  every  home  is 
seen  the  household  Buddhist  shrine  where  offerings  of  incense  and 
flowers  are  constantly  made,  and  where  daily  prayers  are  recited.  One 
day  when  the  largest  Buddhist  temple  in  Kyoto  was  holding  a popular 
festival  and  thousands  and  thousands  of  pilgrims  were  streaming 
through  its  gates  and  worshipping  before  its  image,  I asked  an  at- 


teii(iant  where  all  these  people  came  from  and  the  reply  I received  was : 
“Tire  large  majority  from  Shiga  Province  and  otlrer  such  rural  dis- 
tricts.” 

The  way  in  which  Buddhist  ideas  prevail  here  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  shortly  after  the  opening  of  our  kindergarten  in  Zeze,  when  the 
children  were  giyen  time  to  make  with  clay  anything  they  wished,  one 
of  them  started  to  make  “Ishiyama  no  Kwannon”  or  the  goddess  of 
mercy  at  a neighboring  famous  temple,  a)id  another  “Jidosan,”  the  god 
who  takes  special  care  of  children. 

Two  years  ago  after  three  Normal  School  students  had  been  com- 
ing to  our  English  Bible  class  in  the  “Life  of  Christ”  for  over  six 
numths  and  Hr.  Yahe  thought  they  ought  to  understand  pretty  well 
tl'.e  real  meaning  of  Christianity,  he  talked  to  them  i^ersonally  about 
th.e  claims  of  Christ  upon  their  lives.  One  of  them  said,  “Our  par- 
ents are  strong  Buddhists  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  think  of  fol- 
lowing a new  religion  and  thus  hurt  our  parents’  feelings.  It  would 
be  unfilial.”  They  all  stopped  soming  to  our  Sunday  School  and 
cliurch,  and  we  thought  we  had  lost  our  chance  with  them,  but  I am 
happy  to  say  that  the  two  of  the  three  are  now  again  in  my.  Bible 
class.  Our  expeience,  however,  with  them  illustrates  the  tremendous 
hold  which  Buddhism  still  has,  even  upon  the  young  men  in  rural 
Japan  for  all  of  those  three  students  had  come  to  Zeze  from  the 
country. 

Oiir  Partici\lai‘  Field. 

Shiga  Province  is  an  inland  province,  very  conservative  and  yet 
very  fertile.  It  raises  some  of  the  best  rice  in  all  Japan.  With  a 
population  (711,767)  greater  than  that  of  South  Dakota,  its  arable 
area  is  only  1,400  square  miles  or  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  that  of 
South  Dakota. 

In  this  fertile  province  our  particular  field  is  the  southern  part, 
including  Otsu,  the  provincial  capital,  and  two  neighboring  counties, 
Kurita  and  Yasu.  Of  the  seven  hundred  thousand  people  in  the 
whole  province  one  hundred  thousand  of  them  depend  upon  our  Church 
for  a knowledge  of  the  Gospel! 

Beginning  At  The  Center. 

In  order  to  help  capture  the  future  teachers  of  the  province  we 
early  decided  that  a strong  typical  Christian  work  should  be  done  at 
Zeze.  Here  is  located  the  only  provincial  Noi-mal  School  for  young 
men.  With  over  three  hundred  students  coming  from  every  county  in 
the  province  and  upon  graduation  the  majority  retiarning  to  their 
homes  to  become  teachers  in  the  public  schools,  the  Normal  School  has 
twenty-two  teachers  not  a single  one  of  whom  is  at  present  a Chris- 
tian ! 

Here  in  Zeze  on  July  4,  191.5,  Hr.  Yahe  held  his  first  public  service 
in  a small  Japanese  dwelling.  Two  weeks  later  he  started  a Sunday 
school  with  about  tewenty  hoys  and  girls  present  and  in  the  fall  Hrs. 
Knipp  began  her  cooking-class  and  after  the  holidays  we  started  an 
English  Bible  class.  The  next  spring  we  opened  a kindergarten  and 
on  .July  4,  1916,  a church  was  organized  with  fourteen  charter  members. 

Our  Aim. 

.lust  now  a new  and  shorter  railroad  line  is  being  built  between 
Ivoyo  to  Otsu.  Two  tunnels  through  the  mountains,  a number  of 


bridges  and  culverts,  and  a high  railbed  are  taking  much  time,  work 
and  money  to  construct.  This  new  roadbed  reminds  me  often  of  what 
we  are  trying  to  do  in  Shiga  Province — huild  a highway  for  the  trains 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  run  over  during  the  years  and  centuries 
to  come. 

In  Christian  America  with  all  your  churches,  Sunday  schools,  and 
Christian  ideals  it  is  practically  impossible  for  you  to  imagine  the 
obstacles  which  must  be  overcome  here.  For  instance,  I was  told 
recently  by  a lawyer  that  religion  is  alright  for  women,  but  men  don’t 
need  it!  This  spirit  of  indifference  towards  religion  is  general  among 
young  men. 

In  the  city  of  Otsu  there  are  one  hundred  and  seven  Buddhist 
temples  and  sixty-five  Shinto  shrines.  When  I asked  a Christian  man 
what  moral  influence  all  these  exerted,  he  replied:  “None.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Buddhist  temples  exert  the  opposite  influence  because 
of  the  immoral  lives  of  many  of  the  priests.”  I have  yet  to  hear  of 
any  movement  among  the  Buddhists  in  Japan  to  help  in  the  fight 
against  liquor  and  the  social  evil  although  these  evils  are  steadily  in- 
creasing, and  causing  more  and  more  poverty  and  misery.  According 
to  the  Buddhist  idea  one  san  be  saved  without  giving  up  his  sins. 
When  such  teaching  as  this — salvation  without  repentance — has  such 
a strong  hold  upon  the  mass  of  the  people,  you  may  imagine  the  dif- 
ficulty of  propagating  Christianity.  If  any  nation  needs  a Savior  to 
save  its  people,  not  simply  for  the  future  but  from  present  sins,  surely 
Japan  is  such  a nation. 

Winning  the  Community 

In  the  midst  of  such  conditions  as  we  find  here  in  Shiga  Province, 
one’s  aim  must  be  greater  than  that  of  simply  winning  an  individual 
here  and  another  there  for  Christ.  We  must  change,  by  the  help 
of  God  and  proper  methods  and  goals,  the  whole  spiritual  and  moral 
tone  of  the  community.  For  twenty  years  we  tried  the  old  plan  and 
it  failed.  Now  we  are  speaking  to  work  on  a broader  basis  with  the 
object  of  winning  the  community  for  Christ. 

The  First  Year. 

The  first  twelve  months,  Mr.  Yabe  and  I spent  largely  in  spying  out 
our  whole  territory.  We  visited  the  Normal  School,  the  Middle  School 
(corresponding  to  a high  school  in  America)  and  the  provincial 
prison  in  Zeze,  we  went  to  see  the  Commercial  School  and  the  Girls’ 
Iligh  and  Normal  School,  in  Otsu,  and  we  visited  the  twenty-eight 
public  schools  in  Kurita  and  Yasu  counties,  speaking  at  the  request 
of  the  principals  sometimes  to  as  many  as  three  or  four  hundrtHl 
scholars 

At  that  time  a social  survey  was  being  made  by  the  Federated  Mis- 
sions of  rural  conditions  in  all  Japan.  We  helped  in  that  work  by 
interviewing  the  principals  and  from  them  learning  the  educational, 
social,  economic,  moral  and  religious  conditions  of  the  community. 
These  interviews  gave  us  the  opportunity  to  explain  our  aims  as 
Christian  workers. 

We  found  that  in  a majority  of  villages  and  towns  the  public  school 
is  becoming  the  center  of  the  community.  We  made  many  friends 
among  the  teachers,  principals  and  scholars. 

A Community  Building  Needed. 

Our  visits  to  these  schools  deepened  our  conviction  that  we  must 
have  in  Zeze  just  as  early  as  possible  a building  adapted  to  our 


needs.  To  carry  on  a Sunday  school  in  a small  Japanese  residence — 
the  best  we  could  rent — we  were  led  to  realize  would  not  appeal  to  a 
community  where  the  public  schools  all  have  suitable  buildings  adapt- 
ed to  educational  work. 

Finding  the  Location. 

First  we  tried  to  get  the  vacant  lot  in  front  of  the  Zeze  Middle 
School.  When  finally  the  owner  was  willing,  the  principal  objected. 
Then  wc  sought  to  buy  lots  on  the  public  square.  In  one  case 
it  was  the  priest  of  the  most  prominent  Shinto  shrine  who  stood 
in  the  way,  while  in  the  other  in  order  to  get  enough 
ground  we  needed  part  of  a lot  belonging  to  one  of  the  twenty-four 
Buddhist  temples  in  Zeze.  Of  course  we  were  refused. 

The  above  negotiations  took  nearly  a year.  Then  the  owner  of  the 
lot  upon  which  the  town  theatre  stood,  offered  to  sell  it  and  the  build- 
ing also,  provided  he  could  persuade  the  other  eight  men  with  whom 
he  owned  the  theatre  jointly,  to  sell  it  for  Christian  purposes.  He 
himself  said;  “Your  Christianity  is  different  from  what  I have  seen 
in  other  places.  You  seem  to  be  interested  in  the  community.” 

Theatre  Becomes  Church. 

On  July  4,  1917,  the  theatre  passed  into  our  hands,  just  exactly  two 
years  after  Mr.  Yabe  started  to  hold  services  in  Zeze  and  one  year 
after  the  church  had  been  organized. 

The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  take  down  the  “kamidana’  or  god- 
shelf  just  above  the  entrance  on  the  inside.  In  addition  to  the  little 
shrine  enclosing  a charm  brought  from  a popular  shrine  called  “In- 
arisan”  there  were  on  either  side  two  little  fox  images  and  above 
an  inscription,  “0-Iri-Kanai,”  meaning,  “Great  crowds  be  granted.” 

We  had  expected  to  put  up  a new  building,  but  the  architect,  after  ex- 
amining the  old  theatre,  told  us  that  with  many  additions  and  changes 
it  could  be  made  to  serve  our  purpose  well.  Tbe  whole  building  was 
raised  a foot  and  a half,  glass  windows  were  put  in,  new  floors  took 
the  place  of  the  old,  rotted  ones,  bay  windows  were  added  both  in  the 
front  and  rear,  the  outside  was  finished  with  stucco,  the  inside  newly 
plastered,  three  rooms  were  added,  the  gallery  was  extended,  and  so 
many  other  changes  were  made  that  one  does  not  recognize  in  the  new 
tabernacle  the  old  Kotobukiza  theatre. 

Local  Co-operation  Secured. 

The  wonderful  transformation  from  a dirty,  dingj"  theatre  to  a 
bright,  beautiful  tabernacle  was  joyfully  celebrated  on  Easter,  March 
31,  1918. 

To  the  dedication  exercises  came  many  of  the  representative  men  of 
Zeze.  Besides  the  mayor,  such  men  as  the  principals  of  the  two  public 
schools,  a number  of  the  leading  business  men,  the  provincial  prison 
governor,  retired  military  officers,  and  some  property-owners  and  of- 
ficials were  present.  Their  attendance  at  the  dedication  of  a Chris- 
tian church  in  a Japanese  town  like  Zeze  where  there  are  twentyfour 
Buddhist  temples  and  nineteen  Shinto  shrines  meant  the  removal  of 
much  prejudice. 

These  men  had  each  given  something  to  help  pay  for  the  lot  which 
had  cost  one  thousand,  five  hundred  and  eighty-four  yen.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Zeze  church  did  nobly  and  the  other  United  Brethren 
churches,  missionaries  and  friends  kindly  gave  their  co-operation. 

The  lot  is  72  by  127  feet.  Of  its  total  over  1,170  yen  has  been  paid 


and  tile  balance  is  being  paid  by  the  Zeze  cbiirclies  ineuibers  from 
month  to  month.  The  splendid  local  co-operation  in  a community 
where  Christianity  is  so  new  was  due  entirely  to  the  preserving,  tact- 
ful efforts  of  Ifr.  Tabe. 

Activities  in  New  Building. 

Following  the  dedication  a big  Sunday  school  rally  was  held. 
Later  the  Doshisha  Primrose  Club  gave  a sacred  concert.  In  August, 
the  Poys’  Summer  School  was  held  there.  In  the  fall  special  evangel- 
istic meetings  were  held.  Recently  the  employees  of  the  electric  car 
line  have  met  there  for  social  gatherings  with  a spiritual  message 
from  Ml’.  Yabe. 

At  Christmas  time  the  house  was  packed  at  the  Siiday  school  enter 
tainment.  Six  hundred  were  present  at  a recent  concert  given  by  a 
local  musical  organization,  and  on  February  11,  which  corresponds 
in  Japan  to  our  Fourth  of  July,  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Constitution  was  celebrated  with  a lax’ge  attendance. 

These  occasions  make  it  possible  for  us  to  come  into  helpful  relation 
to  a large  part  of  the  local  community,  Row  we  need  not  be  asbamed 
to  invite  anyone  to  the  church. 

All  Phases  of  ^yorl•  Helped. 

Tlie  attendance-  at  the  evening  clmrch  services  lias  grown.  The 
Sunday  school  work  is  more  effective.  The  young  men’s  room  with  its 
ping-pong  tables  has  been  in  constant  use.  The  swings,  sand  pile,  and 
. sliding  board  in  the  play-ground  have  brought  joy  to  many  hearts. 
Right  classes  in  matbematics,  and  Chinese  classics,  and  afternoon 
classes  in  English  conversation  have  been  appreciated  by  the  young 
men. 

If  only  you  all  could  visit  us  some  Snday  morning  and  see  our 
classes  as  they  go  to  their  class-rooms  for  their  study,  and  then  could 
see  where  we  formerly  met,  yon  would  understand  better  how  gTatefnl 
we  are  to  God  for  onr  new  building!  Formerly  after  the  opening  ex- 
ercises four  of  onr  eight  classes  had  to  go  to  a small  house  a half 
square  away,  even  in  rainy  weather,  and  my  Bible  class  of  young 
men  ivent  to  the  dressing-room  of  a neighboring  public  bath-house! 

.1  Transformed  Life. 

Well,  some  one  is  saying,  “What  have  been  the  spiritual  results  at 
Zeze?”  Too  many  to  mention  in  detail.  Let  me  give  just  a few.  One 
of  the  members  of  the  committee  for  securing  funds  for  the  lot  was 
once  a heavy  drinker  and  gambler.  He  was  disinherited  and  came 
to  Zeze  and  got  work  at  the  railroad  shop.  About  two  years  ago 
he  was  invited  by  one  of  our  members  to  some  special  evangelistic 
meetings.  He  was  thoroughly  converted.  Row  he  is  an  active  per- 
sonal worker.  Rot  long  ago  he  was  burned  severely  in  a boiler  ex- 
plosion. At  the  Red  Cross  Hospital  in  Otsu  his  patience,  notwith- 
standing his  terrible  suffering,  was  quite  a contrast  to  that  of  a 
fellow  workman  burnt  at  the  same  time.  His  complete  trust  in  God 
and  his  peace  as  he  faced  the  future  won  the  admiration  of  all  those 
in  his  ward.  His  father  recognized  the  wonderful  change  in  his  life 
and  has  received  him  back  into  his  family. 

A Self-Sacrificing  Mother. 

One  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  Zene  kindergarten,  so  far  as  the  church 
is  concerned,  was  the  conversion  of  one  of  the  mothers.  She  is  now 


one  of  our  most  earnest  workers.  Her  mother-in-law  who  lives  with 
her  is  not  sympathetic  to  Christianity.  When  subscriptions  were 
taken  for  the  lot,  she  pledged  one  yen  (fifty  cents)  a month.  Al- 
though she  has  three  children  and  must  do  all  her  own  work  and  look 
after  a small  store,  she  earned  this  extra  money  by  making  “liaori 
no  himo”  (or  braid  for  coats)  at  night. 

Just  now  she  is  doing  her  best  to  lead  her  husband  to  Christ.  He 
is  the  principal  of  a country  public  school  with  over  six  hundred 
scholars.  Juke  many  other  Japanese  educators,  he  is  not  sure  Chri- 
tianity  is  not  contrary  to  the  Japanese  national  spirit.  I recently 
loaned  him  a two-volume  “History  of  Christianity  in  Japan.”  His 
conversion  would  mean  much.  Continue  to  pray  for  him,  and  his 
wife. 

Winning  Young  People. 

Of  Zeze  Church’s  thirty-eight  members,  twenty-four  are  young  peo- 
ple. What  it  that  saying  about  “Win  a young  person  and  you  win  a 
multiplication  table?”  At  any  rate  that  is  our  conviction.  Of  these 
youn^’  people  six  of  them  came  into  the  church  through  the  Sunday 
school  and  seven  through  Bible  class  work.  I wish  you  might  meet  the 
oldest  of  them.  He  is  now  studying  in  the  ecoomic  department  of  the 
Doshisha  University.  He  is  one  of  our  most  faithful  and  earnest 
Sunday  school  teachers,  assistant  treasurer  of  the  church  and  Mr. 
Yabe’s  right  hand  man.  I have  often  longed  to  see  him  decide  for  the 
mini.strj',  but  whether  he  becomes  a minister  or  layman,  if  in  the 
providence  of  God  he  is  permitted  to  live  he  Avill  make  his  life  tell 
mightily  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

iWoulding  Child  Life. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  Zeze  kindergarten  in  April,  1916,  eighty- 
five  boys  and  girls  have  been  enrolled.  In  1917,  there  were  eleven 
graduates,  in  1918,  twenty,  and  this  year  there  will  be  fifteen,  mak- 
ing fort.v-six  in  all.  Wliat  deep  religious  impressions  they  have  re- 
ceived only  eternity  will  reveal.  When  they  began  to  come  to  the 
kindergarten,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  making  little  Buddhist  tem- 
ples with  the  clay  during  free  periods.  Mow  they  mould  churches  and 
b^uld  churches  with  the  blocks. 

Establishing  a New  Center. 

Just  thirty  minutes  on  the  interurban  line  from  our  home  in 
Kyoto  is  Otsu,  the  capital  of  Shiga  Province,  situated  on  the  southern 
shore  of  beautiful  Lake  Biwa.  Here  are  located  all  the  provincial 
offices. 

Last  April  we  started  a kindergarten  with  an  enrollment  of  six 
which  has  increased  to  sixteen,  and  this  March  there  will  be  seven 
graduates.  An  English  Night  School  for  young  men  has  enrolled  over 
fifty. 

Mrs.  Knipp  has  an  English  Bible  class  for  the  high  school  girls  and 
also  a meeting  for  the  teachers  of  English,  while  I meet  with  a group 
of  men  once  a week  to  discuss  Current  Events  in  English.  This 
brings  me  in  touch  regularly  with  the  heads  of  two  departments  in  the 
provincial  building,  a banker,  a teacher,  and  the  governor  of  the  Zeze 
provincial  prison. 

One  Phase  of  the  Need. 

For  fifteen  years  we  tried  to  get  a hold  in  this  city  of  Otsu  by 
the  ordinary  methods  of  conducting  a Sunday  school  and  holding 


preaching  services.  We  di  dreach  a few  individuals,  but  it  has  been 
impossible  to  build  up  a church. 

If  you  should  happen  to  be  in  Otsu  on  one  of  the  heathen  festival 
days  and  see  the  great  crowds  under  its  influence,  you  would  realize 
somewhat  why  work  there  is  not  easy.  Like  Athens  when  Paul 
visited  it,  Otsu  “is  full  of  idols.”  In  that  city  there  are  over  ope 
hundred  Buddhist  temples  and  sixty-five  Shinto  shrines. 

To  show  the  people  what  Christianity  really  is  we  believe  God 
wants  our  Church  to  establish  a Christian  center  there  that  will  do 
for  that  community  the  kind  of  work  which  will  help  capture  the  city 
for  Christ.  We  need  a huilding  sidtaWe  for  such  worh.  At  present 
the  little  congregation  and  the  Sunday  school  and  kindergarten  and 
night  school,  all  do  their  work  in  a Japanese  dwelling. 

Another  Advance  Step. 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  this  year  we  started  our  newspaper  evan- 
gelistic campaign.  Once  a week  in  each  of  the  two  Otsu  dailies  Mr. 
Yabe  inserts  a column,  giving  a helpful  Christian  message.  The  cost 
is  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a year.  Next  year  we 
hope  to  have  enough  in  our  appropriation  to  use  at  least  two  columns. 

Beaching  Our  Rural  Field. 

This  newspaper  work  is  having  its  influence  also  on  the  country 
people  where  the  prejudice  is  very  strong  against  Christianity.  In  one 
of  our  two  counties,  with  a population  of  43,000  people,  there  are  242 
Buddhist  temples  with  255  priests  and  not  a single  resident  Christian 
worker ! 

In  the  adjoining  county  with  49,816  people  we  have  one  evangelist 
and  a small  group  of  Christians,  but  what  are  they  among  so  many? 
“It’s  a long  way  to  Tipperary”  and  it  is  a long  way  to  the  Chri- 
tianizing  of  these  rural  communities,  but  we  believe  God  wants  these 
people  to  know  of  His  love  as  revealed  in  Christ.  To  our  Church  He 
has  given  the  privilege  of  being  His  representatives  to  these  people.  If 
ire  are  not  faithful,  they  will  not  hear  because  this  territory  has  been 
assigned  to  us  and  the  other  missions  have  responsibility  elsewhere. 

A Little  Child  Shall  Lead  Them. 

Ill  each  of  these  two  counties  in  the  county  seat  we  must  do  a 
typical  Christian  work.  In  addition  to  the  Sunday  school  and  church 
we  ought  to  have  a kindergarten  and  other  helpful  activities.  In 
Ivusatsu,  one  county-seat,  we  have  been  forced  to  move  five  times  in 
less  than  four  years.  So  urgent  is  the  need  for  a permanent,  suitable 
building  that  we  recently  started  a building  fund  in  the  Sunday 
school.  When  one  little  girl,  who  has  been  faithfully  coming  to  our 
Sunday  school  for  several  years,  told  her  mother  about  the  new  plan 
she  said,  “Oh,  you  will  be  an  old  woman  before  those  Christians  do 
anything  like  that,”  and  laughed. 

Meeting  the  Challenge. 

At  Zeze  we  have  made,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  a good  beginning. 
At  Otsu  we  are  getting  a new  start.  In  the  country  we  have  hardly 
begun.  The  people,  including  multitudes  and  multitudes  of  children 
and  women,  are  like  sheep  without  a shepherd.  The  harvest  is  plen- 
teous but  the  laborers,  indeed,  are  few.  Will  you  not  join  with  us  in 
daily  prayer  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  send  forth  laborers 
into  the  harvest? 


